4 April 2013

Canberra builders recommendations?

| Shirokuma
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Hi all

Was just wondering if anyone had any experience dealing with any of the following builders:

Ruiz Constructions

Rawson Homes

Sekisui House

They all seem pretty competent with good inclusions – hard to choose between them. Are there any other builders that come recommended?

[Ed – let’s stick to positive contributions people]

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I would recommend Brighter Building Solutions (http://www.brighterbuildingsolutions.com.au). I recently built a house with them and their service was personalised and professional. They worked with me to build the home I wanted and the benefit of the fixtures and fitting showroom allowed me to easily choose what I wanted rather then spending time travelling around to find or review options.

razzie said :

Hi
We built with Cavalier Homes and I recommend you STAY AWAY from them. Refused to hand over the keys to the house after the final payment had been made, amongst an endless list of stuff ups. We needed the executive director of Master Builders Association to intervene, time and time again. MBA are still involved as it’s only been 9 weeks since we moved in.
.

SAME happened to me!

As soon as he got the contract, got the site work started, asked for 4.5k price increasing… that was only the beginning!

Went to Master Builders Association three time with him, and the issues are still not resolved!

STAY AWAY from Cavalier Homes!

I’m coming close to finishing a large renovation with Build Professional. 12 months of dealing with them, and just about reaching practical completion now. Happy to share my experiences with anyone who is seeking information on Build Professional. Email me at canberra.build@hotmail.com.

DO NOT build with Z&R Properties. Seriously slow and ridiculously unprofessional.

Heard Pavillion are also really slow.

Kolak seem ok.

Wish I’d built with J&F Homes – no idea who they are but their houses (which look great) seem to get finished way faster than anyone else.

MightyJoe, When I was researching I knew what I wanted: a small builder, who worked with the same team on all his jobs; and a builder who would be on site every day with his workers to ensure adequate supervision, care and quality. He assured me that he was always on site whenever work was being done. I was on site most days and he was NEVER on site–even his contractors would get upset because there was no one to answer their questions. I did not fault his contractors–they all did the best they could. I asked for–and got–references. To answer your question: no, I had not seen an MBA contract before. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I would do it very differently now. In my innocence, I really did not believe that people such as my builder existed–crooked, deceitful, shameless. He thinks he is above the law. Even now, having give the courts an assurance that he will not come within 100 metres of my house, he blatantly parks outside my house and stares inside, or he does laps around my block. I am honest and I assume others are honest in their dealings with me. Little did I know. This is probably not the right forum to discuss my issues. If you want to know more you can contact me–not sure how it works on this site.

No, no – not saying I’m smart! My builder hasn’t finished my house yet despite me being there for 6mths+

I understand you, but surely when you did your research you would have seen HIA and MBA contracts even blank ones?

http://www.masterbuilders.asn.au/contracts-and-disputes/which-contract/residential-contracts

That was a result of a 10sec google search.

I get you and your reasoning, you think the builder is trustworthy and honest, but he’s not your best friend or your brother – its money. You say you did 12mths research, you don’t appear to have done the right research then if you signed a contract on 4 pages. Did anyone even witness it????

water_lily said :

MightyJoe, perhaps we are not all smart as you are. Buying a house and land package is different to already owning a block of land, having some plans drawn up by an architect and then searching for a builder to construct a house on it. I did nearly 12 months research on finding a builder. I found someone who I thought had integrity and was trustworthy. He was a member of the MBA. When someone brings you round the contract to sign, you assume it is the whole contract. It never occurred to me that the builder would bring around for signing only one-tenth of the contract. It was an MBA contract, which one would assume met Australian standards. I now know that I wouldn’t sign an MBA contract again (even if presented with the whole thing), as it firmly favours the builder. The MBA has called for the government to hold an inquiry into the building industry. However, if the MBA were serious about repairing the reputation of the building industry here in Canberra it would re-draft its contract to make it fair to both sides, and discipline its member builders who flagrantly flout their disregard for what are supposed to be legally binding agreements.

MightyJoe, perhaps we are not all smart as you are. Buying a house and land package is different to already owning a block of land, having some plans drawn up by an architect and then searching for a builder to construct a house on it. I did nearly 12 months research on finding a builder. I found someone who I thought had integrity and was trustworthy. He was a member of the MBA. When someone brings you round the contract to sign, you assume it is the whole contract. It never occurred to me that the builder would bring around for signing only one-tenth of the contract. It was an MBA contract, which one would assume met Australian standards. I now know that I wouldn’t sign an MBA contract again (even if presented with the whole thing), as it firmly favours the builder. The MBA has called for the government to hold an inquiry into the building industry. However, if the MBA were serious about repairing the reputation of the building industry here in Canberra it would re-draft its contract to make it fair to both sides, and discipline its member builders who flagrantly flout their disregard for what are supposed to be legally binding agreements.

Just the same, Whilst looking at buying a house and land package I found 4 houses, my conveyancer / lawyer read each one and steered me away from 1 as it didn’t meet ACT requirements.
Really sorry, but there’s always someone to ask.

water_lily said :

MightyJoe, I wish I were having a lend of you. I know: I was really naive and gullible. The MBA contract is a BUILDING contract; it is not a contract to buy a house. There was no conveyance involved because conveyancing is not required for a build. There was no bank involved, because I was not borrowing any money. I had to apply for a loan when I saw that the builder had changed the contract, and the bank could see that the contract was dodgy and had been amended. I wish a bank had been involved from the beginning–it would have saved me a lot of angst.

MightyJoe, I wish I were having a lend of you. I know: I was really naive and gullible. The MBA contract is a BUILDING contract; it is not a contract to buy a house. There was no conveyance involved because conveyancing is not required for a build. There was no bank involved, because I was not borrowing any money. I had to apply for a loan when I saw that the builder had changed the contract, and the bank could see that the contract was dodgy and had been amended. I wish a bank had been involved from the beginning–it would have saved me a lot of angst.

How did you buy a home with 4 pages only? The banks require the contract, conveyancers make you initial each page of the contract before you sign it and then hand over the deposit cheque.

Really, i think you’re having a lend of us, no-one in their right mind would go off 4 pages.

If you tried doing the conveyancing yourself, then I’m afraud your experience should be a warning to others thinking of going it alone.

Ensure that the builder bring you TWO copies of the FULL building contract–one copy for you to take IMMEDIATELY and the other for the builder to take. My builder brought to me four pages of a 40-age MBA contract. I had no idea that there were more than four pages to the contract. He brought me ONE copy of the four pages, and then took those with him. He returned them to me six months later having added $42,000+ to the contract without my knowledge. He is now taking me to court for that sum (which I have refused to pay). He maintains to his lawyer that he never touched the contract after I signed it and is willing to perjure himself in court. Buyer beware.

ACTing_out said :

I would love to hear more about good builders in Canberra and post something positive too…

Canberra is building a lot of new homes now and will be for many years to come. Is there anywhere apart from RA and blog style sites that give ratings for known builders and tradesmen? Something like WOMO perhaps? >> (Just checked and not much action on WOMO)

Looks like my feedback on one building company was removed from my post… PM me if you care to know…

My partner and I are first home buyers and decided to purchase an ‘easy’ house and land package in Gungahlin. They constantly tried to push extras on us all throughout the build including a $5000 timber retaining wall but excluded us completely from all decisions regarding our house. At one point, before lock-up stage, we were inspecting our property on the weekend and a tradie pulls up and tells us to leave our own property! Definitely no personalised service from this company!

We have now received our Certificate of Occupancy and paid our final installment but this particular building company has decided to pull a figure out of thin air for ‘additional work’ and refuse to give us our keys until we pay this extra cost.

My family have dealt with various Canberra builders over the past 14 years and have always been treated well. I realise now that they have been extremely lucky. This company went as far as to sneakily omit inclusions from the contract and we have found them to be misleading and deceptive throughout. Once you sign the contract, you are at their mercy. They can charge what they want and until you pay up, you won’t get your keys.

If anyone wants to know more about this please PM me.

After a really lousy experience with our builder for a fairly major renovation, my main advice is:
(i) think through the technical details of what you want really carefully – worth talking through with your architect or a draftsman if you’re a novice with building;
(ii) on that basis, get tight specifications (including engineering) that you want builders to quote on so you can compare apples with apples;
(iii) if someone comes back much cheaper than everyone else, get them to walk through what they were intending to do to ensure their idea of the specifications are the same as yours eg : two coats of paint vs manufacturer’s recommended number of coats of paint, screws or nails for the deck, etc. Also worth checking who their crew are – are they using only certified tradies or some strong bloke who answered an ad in the Canberra Times the previous weekend;
(iv) get your own certifier. Actually, this is the most important. Make sure they understand that you want a build that, at a minimum, meets the building code. Check if they have previously worked with the builder you’re thinking about and get their feedback on him (try and suss out if they have any COI if their praise is too fulsome).

IMO, the best thing that the ACT government could do to improve building standards in Canberra would be to de-privatise certifiers and make it a government responsibility again to ensure basic standards are met. No more nudge-nudge wink-wink between these co-dependent pseudo-professionals! When we ran into significant quality problems with our renovation, our builder-recommended certifier would not even return our calls. And we could not even withhold payment to the certifiers in protest at their sub-standard efforts because the builder was paying them directly, and their cost was part of our payment to the builder. We thought the builder was being helpful when he suggested them, and of course now our shins are black and blue from all the kicking we’ve given ourselves.

milkman said :

billiecart said :

Let me tell you a story about RUIZ constructions. On dropping my elderly mother at the Canberra airport this afternoon l had pulled up as close to the front gate as possible. On getting mum all sorted out and farewelled l got back in my car and proceeded to indicate to pull out. As l did this a 4wd ute pulled in across the nose of my car, blocking me in.
When l indicated to the driver, who had alighted from the vehicle, that l needed him to move his truck forward, he proceeded to wave me off and continued on his way. l wound down the window and said that behaving with no consideration was one thing, but doing so with your companies name, RUIZ construction, written all over the offending vehicle, is not very clever. My words were met with a blank stare, served up with his arrogant stride past the front of my car. l would consider that if thats how a member of that company treats a member of the public then lm pretty sure l wouldn’t entrust them with building my home.
ln the end l had to reverse my car, precariously, to get out of the parking spot. No thanks to a member of RUIZ construction.

You had to reverse your car out of a carpark?!?!?

Typical tradie.

I would love to hear more about good builders in Canberra and post something positive too…

Canberra is building a lot of new homes now and will be for many years to come. Is there anywhere apart from RA and blog style sites that give ratings for known builders and tradesmen? Something like WOMO perhaps? >> (Just checked and not much action on WOMO)

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but keeping all builder reviews in one thread might be useful for RA users in the future. So here goes: We’re planing a sizeable extension to an existing property – maybe 4 to 6 months build time (which rules out the small deck-and-pergola type guys), and would greatly appreciate any feedback – positive or negative – on the following builders:

O’Sullivan Constructions

Build Professional

Emmadale Group

Owen Building Group

If you’re not comfortable posting negative comments here, email your feedback to me at canberra.build@hotmail.com.

billiecart said :

Let me tell you a story about RUIZ constructions. On dropping my elderly mother at the Canberra airport this afternoon l had pulled up as close to the front gate as possible. On getting mum all sorted out and farewelled l got back in my car and proceeded to indicate to pull out. As l did this a 4wd ute pulled in across the nose of my car, blocking me in.
When l indicated to the driver, who had alighted from the vehicle, that l needed him to move his truck forward, he proceeded to wave me off and continued on his way. l wound down the window and said that behaving with no consideration was one thing, but doing so with your companies name, RUIZ construction, written all over the offending vehicle, is not very clever. My words were met with a blank stare, served up with his arrogant stride past the front of my car. l would consider that if thats how a member of that company treats a member of the public then lm pretty sure l wouldn’t entrust them with building my home.
ln the end l had to reverse my car, precariously, to get out of the parking spot. No thanks to a member of RUIZ construction.

Where is “billycart” parking at the airport?

thebrownstreak698:27 am 11 Jul 13

Most builders in ACT suck balls. Having private certification and lax government planning equals lots of cut corners.

billiecart said :

Let me tell you a story about RUIZ constructions. On dropping my elderly mother at the Canberra airport this afternoon l had pulled up as close to the front gate as possible. On getting mum all sorted out and farewelled l got back in my car and proceeded to indicate to pull out. As l did this a 4wd ute pulled in across the nose of my car, blocking me in.
When l indicated to the driver, who had alighted from the vehicle, that l needed him to move his truck forward, he proceeded to wave me off and continued on his way. l wound down the window and said that behaving with no consideration was one thing, but doing so with your companies name, RUIZ construction, written all over the offending vehicle, is not very clever. My words were met with a blank stare, served up with his arrogant stride past the front of my car. l would consider that if thats how a member of that company treats a member of the public then lm pretty sure l wouldn’t entrust them with building my home.
ln the end l had to reverse my car, precariously, to get out of the parking spot. No thanks to a member of RUIZ construction.

You had to reverse your car out of a carpark?!?!?

Let me tell you a story about RUIZ constructions. On dropping my elderly mother at the Canberra airport this afternoon l had pulled up as close to the front gate as possible. On getting mum all sorted out and farewelled l got back in my car and proceeded to indicate to pull out. As l did this a 4wd ute pulled in across the nose of my car, blocking me in.
When l indicated to the driver, who had alighted from the vehicle, that l needed him to move his truck forward, he proceeded to wave me off and continued on his way. l wound down the window and said that behaving with no consideration was one thing, but doing so with your companies name, RUIZ construction, written all over the offending vehicle, is not very clever. My words were met with a blank stare, served up with his arrogant stride past the front of my car. l would consider that if thats how a member of that company treats a member of the public then lm pretty sure l wouldn’t entrust them with building my home.
ln the end l had to reverse my car, precariously, to get out of the parking spot. No thanks to a member of RUIZ construction.

razzie said :

Hi
We just finished building and we dealt with Ruiz Constructions, Rawson Homes and Sekisui House when choosing a builder.

I wouldn’t go with any of them for the following reasons:
Ruiz Constructions – The price of the building construction would increase substantially over a small addition ie portico, etc. We were told the block was flat and it ended up being on an incline. We got our deposit back.

Rawson Homes – We went to 2 consultants at different display homes, as the first one made changes to the house plan without any discussion. When we got what we wanted from the 2nd consultant, she was then sacked for giving us what we wanted ie a flat block, and the 1st consultant took over and we walked away. Luckily no $$ were spent, just our time.

Sekisui House -Total waste of time and space. Took us over 2 months for them to finally agree to flatten our block, take away steps in the design as well as a ramp that was never asked for. We wasted 4 months of our time dealing with these arse clowns and we finally walked away and lost our deposit as it wasn’t worth the hassle after over a year wasted with builders.

We built with Cavalier Homes and I recommend you STAY AWAY from them. Refused to hand over the keys to the house after the final payment had been made, amongst an endless list of stuff ups. We needed the executive director of Master Builders Association to intervene, time and time again. MBA are still involved as it’s only been 9 weeks since we moved in.

If you are able to do owner builder, I strongly recommend that. Get recommendations for tradies from colleagues, friends and the Riot ACT. DO NOT use a Canberra or NSW builder as you will be ripped off considerably. We went through over 20 builders and we chose who we thought was the best of the worst, but he still turned out to be a chippie who had no idea of how to build a house.

If we could get back the past two years of our lives, we wouldn’t have bought or built in Canberra.

Whilst my contribution may be seen as negative, it’s a positive contribution to save you $$ and endless stress that no one should have to go through.

Good luck in making a decision if you choose a builder. Ensure you are kept in the loop over what is happening and

razzie said :

Hi
We just finished building and we dealt with Ruiz Constructions, Rawson Homes and Sekisui House when choosing a builder.

I wouldn’t go with any of them for the following reasons:
Ruiz Constructions – The price of the building construction would increase substantially over a small addition ie portico, etc. We were told the block was flat and it ended up being on an incline. We got our deposit back.

Rawson Homes – We went to 2 consultants at different display homes, as the first one made changes to the house plan without any discussion. When we got what we wanted from the 2nd consultant, she was then sacked for giving us what we wanted ie a flat block, and the 1st consultant took over and we walked away. Luckily no $$ were spent, just our time.

Sekisui House -Total waste of time and space. Took us over 2 months for them to finally agree to flatten our block, take away steps in the design as well as a ramp that was never asked for. We wasted 4 months of our time dealing with these arse clowns and we finally walked away and lost our deposit as it wasn’t worth the hassle after over a year wasted with builders.

We built with Cavalier Homes and I recommend you STAY AWAY from them. Refused to hand over the keys to the house after the final payment had been made, amongst an endless list of stuff ups. We needed the executive director of Master Builders Association to intervene, time and time again. MBA are still involved as it’s only been 9 weeks since we moved in.

If you are able to do owner builder, I strongly recommend that. Get recommendations for tradies from colleagues, friends and the Riot ACT. DO NOT use a Canberra or NSW builder as you will be ripped off considerably. We went through over 20 builders and we chose who we thought was the best of the worst, but he still turned out to be a chippie who had no idea of how to build a house.

If we could get back the past two years of our lives, we wouldn’t have bought or built in Canberra.

Whilst my contribution may be seen as negative, it’s a positive contribution to save you $$ and endless stress that no one should have to go through.

Good luck in making a decision if you choose a builder. Ensure you are kept in the loop over what is happening and ask questions.

Good luck if you believe anyone who thinks that doing an owner builder is better than choosing a builder. There are good builders out there and Ruiz Constructions is one of them. They provided step by step information to the point they even save us money.

Not to say that they are the only one out there that are good at what they do.

Hi
We just finished building and we dealt with Ruiz Constructions, Rawson Homes and Sekisui House when choosing a builder.

I wouldn’t go with any of them for the following reasons:
Ruiz Constructions – The price of the building construction would increase substantially over a small addition ie portico, etc. We were told the block was flat and it ended up being on an incline. We got our deposit back.

Rawson Homes – We went to 2 consultants at different display homes, as the first one made changes to the house plan without any discussion. When we got what we wanted from the 2nd consultant, she was then sacked for giving us what we wanted ie a flat block, and the 1st consultant took over and we walked away. Luckily no $$ were spent, just our time.

Sekisui House -Total waste of time and space. Took us over 2 months for them to finally agree to flatten our block, take away steps in the design as well as a ramp that was never asked for. We wasted 4 months of our time dealing with these arse clowns and we finally walked away and lost our deposit as it wasn’t worth the hassle after over a year wasted with builders.

We built with Cavalier Homes and I recommend you STAY AWAY from them. Refused to hand over the keys to the house after the final payment had been made, amongst an endless list of stuff ups. We needed the executive director of Master Builders Association to intervene, time and time again. MBA are still involved as it’s only been 9 weeks since we moved in.

If you are able to do owner builder, I strongly recommend that. Get recommendations for tradies from colleagues, friends and the Riot ACT. DO NOT use a Canberra or NSW builder as you will be ripped off considerably. We went through over 20 builders and we chose who we thought was the best of the worst, but he still turned out to be a chippie who had no idea of how to build a house.

If we could get back the past two years of our lives, we wouldn’t have bought or built in Canberra.

Whilst my contribution may be seen as negative, it’s a positive contribution to save you $$ and endless stress that no one should have to go through.

Good luck in making a decision if you choose a builder. Ensure you are kept in the loop over what is happening and ask questions.

Holden Caulfield9:46 am 09 Apr 13

JC said :

My recommendation is Mark Porreca who build my place a number of years ago and still in business. Trades under the name Solid Constructions.

What happened to the name Porreca Homes, or whatever his former business used to be called?

From my own bitter experience a builder changing names raises some very serious questions.

Very belated response here but Mark is now trading as Porrecca constructions again.

Bit of his work hostory on the website. Basically changed names because he went in business with someone else (believe a guy called Corey who was one of his apprentices on my build in 2000).

Now in business with his son.

http://www.porrecaconstructions.com.au/about/

Holden Caulfield9:43 am 09 Apr 13

cranky said :

I’m astonished that so many posters have had such positive experiences with local builders.

How long have you got? 🙁

cranky said :

I’m astonished that so many posters have had such positive experiences with local builders.

That is indeed the impression you get reading the local papers. Though clearly there must be some good builders out there.

My recommendation is Mark Porreca who build my place a number of years ago and still in business. Trades under the name Solid Constructions.

susiecanberra110:31 pm 08 Apr 13

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

Shirokuma said :

susiecanberra1 said :

My opinion on RUIZ CONSTRUCTIONS
We built with Ruiz constructions, we have been in our new home in Wright for going on 5 months now – here are my experiences
-Ruiz scheduled 7 months for the build – we came in at 5 months, 2 months earlier than expected – FAB
-We had a some variations to the original plan – No problems with Ruiz – turned out beautiful and their inclusions are amazing – what you get told is what you get no dodgey “oh that wasn’t in the contract”

-I was a nighmare client – I was there every day on site – Mr Eddie Ruiz and his project manager were there with me every step of the way – Incredible personal experience

-We needed landscaping done – Ruiz arranged this – we went and got quoted from other landscapers Ruiz had the best price and in our opinion best quality

-We have a large SUV vehicle with roof racks sometimes attached – Ruiz spotted this and set the entrance to our garage higher than normal so that we could get our car in with no probs , he did that off his own bat, we didn’t even think to ask for it- HOWZAT for personalised service??

-We have had 2 defects 1-tap was faulty 2- Laundry door lock – faulty, neither of these were anything to do with the actual structure they were products purchased from suppliers – both of these issues were sorted out within 1 day of notifying Ruiz.

-Since moving into the house we have decided to make some further additions to the place – floor to ceiling cupboards in the garage, tiling to the alfresco and a built in desk – we have gone back to Ruiz as we want the same high quality and workmanship for the additions to our home

These are just some of the great experiences we have had with Ruiz Constructions, building a new home always has the scary stigmas attached and it really is a big call to refer builders, I have no hesitation referring Ruiz Constructions

Our home is even used as a show home for them in Wright – something we offered to Ruiz Constructions because we are just so thrilled with the result.

Pretty hard to see why they would be described as Slick and Dodgey because we found them anything but that.

Good luck with your choice and to others out there thinking of building. Best bet would be to sit down with the Builders and talk to them personally – It’s great to see what the opinions are out there too – but dont let that be your decision maker.

Thanks susie – great feedback. We’ve had a few discussions with them already and found them to be really helpful so far. But then *everyone* we’ve talked to has been great, making it hard to decide who to go with. Responses such as yours makes the decision just that little bit easier!

I know nothing about Ruiz, or susie, but honestly, Susies comments would make me say hmmmmm???

Gamer nerd just curious why you would think Hmmmmm??
Would love to answer your Hmmm?? Better still. The proof is in the pudding so to speak. Go to the Ruiz website our house features on it http://www.ruizconstructions.com.au
The Wrights of Wright it is listed under.

cranky said :

If I had one lesson to pass on to home builders, it would be to seek out your own certifier.

This. Many people don’t realise that it’s the owner who appoints the certifier, and that they work for you, not the builder, and it’s none of the builder’s business who you appoint.

By default I’d suggest ACT Metropolitan, but whoever it is, make sure you have direct contact with them. Keep in mind, though, that they can only demand that the work complies with the Building Code of Australia, and some crappy work can still be considered acceptable by the Code. That said, a good certifier can be a useful source of independent advice during a project, and can provide perspective in terms of what a builder is doing compared to others they’ve seen.

Finding a builder you can trust is difficult.
We recently completed our 2nd home our first was difficult and won’t mention the builder but the second was with Ruiz construction. Our experience was more than satisfactory. What they say they do.
No doggy work and there quality is one of the best out there. Just have to see for your self.
Good luck

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd8:46 pm 08 Apr 13

Shirokuma said :

susiecanberra1 said :

My opinion on RUIZ CONSTRUCTIONS
We built with Ruiz constructions, we have been in our new home in Wright for going on 5 months now – here are my experiences
-Ruiz scheduled 7 months for the build – we came in at 5 months, 2 months earlier than expected – FAB
-We had a some variations to the original plan – No problems with Ruiz – turned out beautiful and their inclusions are amazing – what you get told is what you get no dodgey “oh that wasn’t in the contract”

-I was a nighmare client – I was there every day on site – Mr Eddie Ruiz and his project manager were there with me every step of the way – Incredible personal experience

-We needed landscaping done – Ruiz arranged this – we went and got quoted from other landscapers Ruiz had the best price and in our opinion best quality

-We have a large SUV vehicle with roof racks sometimes attached – Ruiz spotted this and set the entrance to our garage higher than normal so that we could get our car in with no probs , he did that off his own bat, we didn’t even think to ask for it- HOWZAT for personalised service??

-We have had 2 defects 1-tap was faulty 2- Laundry door lock – faulty, neither of these were anything to do with the actual structure they were products purchased from suppliers – both of these issues were sorted out within 1 day of notifying Ruiz.

-Since moving into the house we have decided to make some further additions to the place – floor to ceiling cupboards in the garage, tiling to the alfresco and a built in desk – we have gone back to Ruiz as we want the same high quality and workmanship for the additions to our home

These are just some of the great experiences we have had with Ruiz Constructions, building a new home always has the scary stigmas attached and it really is a big call to refer builders, I have no hesitation referring Ruiz Constructions

Our home is even used as a show home for them in Wright – something we offered to Ruiz Constructions because we are just so thrilled with the result.

Pretty hard to see why they would be described as Slick and Dodgey because we found them anything but that.

Good luck with your choice and to others out there thinking of building. Best bet would be to sit down with the Builders and talk to them personally – It’s great to see what the opinions are out there too – but dont let that be your decision maker.

Thanks susie – great feedback. We’ve had a few discussions with them already and found them to be really helpful so far. But then *everyone* we’ve talked to has been great, making it hard to decide who to go with. Responses such as yours makes the decision just that little bit easier!

I know nothing about Ruiz, or susie, but honestly, Susies comments would make me say hmmmmm???

I’m astonished that so many posters have had such positive experiences with local builders.

I would have tarred them all with a very black, uncooperative, gouging brush.

Please ensure that ALL variations are costed and agreed to prior to implementation. A real money spinner for the unscupulous builder.

Be aware that digging a hole for a garage etc turns a cubic metre of soil into about 3 times that amount by the time its dug up and delivered to the tip. Seems it gets airated – a lot!

If I had one lesson to pass on to home builders, it would be to seek out your own certifier. Do not accept the one the builder wishes to use. He will be in the builders pocket. It was only in the washup to a major rebuild that this penny dropped. Had I used a certifier that I paid directly our rebuild would have been of a far higher quality.

susiecanberra1 said :

My opinion on RUIZ CONSTRUCTIONS
We built with Ruiz constructions, we have been in our new home in Wright for going on 5 months now – here are my experiences
-Ruiz scheduled 7 months for the build – we came in at 5 months, 2 months earlier than expected – FAB
-We had a some variations to the original plan – No problems with Ruiz – turned out beautiful and their inclusions are amazing – what you get told is what you get no dodgey “oh that wasn’t in the contract”

-I was a nighmare client – I was there every day on site – Mr Eddie Ruiz and his project manager were there with me every step of the way – Incredible personal experience

-We needed landscaping done – Ruiz arranged this – we went and got quoted from other landscapers Ruiz had the best price and in our opinion best quality

-We have a large SUV vehicle with roof racks sometimes attached – Ruiz spotted this and set the entrance to our garage higher than normal so that we could get our car in with no probs , he did that off his own bat, we didn’t even think to ask for it- HOWZAT for personalised service??

-We have had 2 defects 1-tap was faulty 2- Laundry door lock – faulty, neither of these were anything to do with the actual structure they were products purchased from suppliers – both of these issues were sorted out within 1 day of notifying Ruiz.

-Since moving into the house we have decided to make some further additions to the place – floor to ceiling cupboards in the garage, tiling to the alfresco and a built in desk – we have gone back to Ruiz as we want the same high quality and workmanship for the additions to our home

These are just some of the great experiences we have had with Ruiz Constructions, building a new home always has the scary stigmas attached and it really is a big call to refer builders, I have no hesitation referring Ruiz Constructions

Our home is even used as a show home for them in Wright – something we offered to Ruiz Constructions because we are just so thrilled with the result.

Pretty hard to see why they would be described as Slick and Dodgey because we found them anything but that.

Good luck with your choice and to others out there thinking of building. Best bet would be to sit down with the Builders and talk to them personally – It’s great to see what the opinions are out there too – but dont let that be your decision maker.

Thanks susie – great feedback. We’ve had a few discussions with them already and found them to be really helpful so far. But then *everyone* we’ve talked to has been great, making it hard to decide who to go with. Responses such as yours makes the decision just that little bit easier!

susiecanberra14:35 pm 08 Apr 13

My opinion on RUIZ CONSTRUCTIONS
We built with Ruiz constructions, we have been in our new home in Wright for going on 5 months now – here are my experiences
-Ruiz scheduled 7 months for the build – we came in at 5 months, 2 months earlier than expected – FAB
-We had a some variations to the original plan – No problems with Ruiz – turned out beautiful and their inclusions are amazing – what you get told is what you get no dodgey “oh that wasn’t in the contract”

-I was a nighmare client – I was there every day on site – Mr Eddie Ruiz and his project manager were there with me every step of the way – Incredible personal experience

-We needed landscaping done – Ruiz arranged this – we went and got quoted from other landscapers Ruiz had the best price and in our opinion best quality

-We have a large SUV vehicle with roof racks sometimes attached – Ruiz spotted this and set the entrance to our garage higher than normal so that we could get our car in with no probs , he did that off his own bat, we didn’t even think to ask for it- HOWZAT for personalised service??

-We have had 2 defects 1-tap was faulty 2- Laundry door lock – faulty, neither of these were anything to do with the actual structure they were products purchased from suppliers – both of these issues were sorted out within 1 day of notifying Ruiz.

-Since moving into the house we have decided to make some further additions to the place – floor to ceiling cupboards in the garage, tiling to the alfresco and a built in desk – we have gone back to Ruiz as we want the same high quality and workmanship for the additions to our home

These are just some of the great experiences we have had with Ruiz Constructions, building a new home always has the scary stigmas attached and it really is a big call to refer builders, I have no hesitation referring Ruiz Constructions

Our home is even used as a show home for them in Wright – something we offered to Ruiz Constructions because we are just so thrilled with the result.

Pretty hard to see why they would be described as Slick and Dodgey because we found them anything but that.

Good luck with your choice and to others out there thinking of building. Best bet would be to sit down with the Builders and talk to them personally – It’s great to see what the opinions are out there too – but dont let that be your decision maker.

I’m currently dealing with Ruiz Constructions… In the very early stages … But I’m not having any issues

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd10:44 pm 05 Apr 13

Inspired building group.

They did a extension for me, including a huge deck and pergola.

Myself being in the construction industry, only the most precessional and best quality work would pass. It certainly did pass.
Great work, fair priced and Steve, the builder/boss, is incredibly personal and accommodating.

Thanks for the recommendations all!

Certainly add Blackett Homes to the list

I cant comment on recently but I had it on reasonable to good authority that in years gone by Rawson were big on inclusions but small on build quality. Some built in my street by them appeared ( to my untrained eye) built to a minimum standard.

That may be different now. Large company builders always seem more like sausage factories than tradesman driven.

Just had a new home completed by Classic Constructions, definitely on the recommend list.

MightyJoe said :

Ruiz – IMO operation seemed too slick and dodgey.

Motion seconded.

Blackett are fairly good.

Having gone through this process,

Ruiz – IMO operation seemed too slick and dodgey. My neighbours had their house built by them and are ok with the house. they do quite a lot of homes, so don’t know if you’ll get personalised service

Pavilion Homes – have read here that they’re a bit so so, i did contact them and the designs were a bit dated and their inclusions were quite crap (against the other builders).

Pierius Magnus – good guys, but very slow. How do i know, they’re building my house now. Excellent value for money, but get stuff in writing head of contract execution i.e. completion date.

Sublime – good options, but tend to overcharge on other bits

Overall, deal direct with builder if you can. I found that dealing with an agent, then him to the builder was a drawn out process that cost me too much time and little details (like window colours) got lost in Chinese whispers, so ended up with something I didn’t want (liveable), but not to my style.

Oh and make sure that you document all dealings with builder throughout the process!

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